Making songs less repetitive

[erratech]

Subtle variation in timbre/texture, strong enough elements. The variation can be basically imperceptible but it still stops it getting boring.

Change the emphasis, by moving a few notes round or leaving some out (especially with drums) the focus of the track subtly changes.

Rare pieces. Have little melodic licks or a sample or something that only appears a few times, preferably in different forms.

[kaiori breathe]

I think one of the easiest ways to make something sound less repetitive is to really hone in on the most powerful musical idea you can. If you're working with weak material you won't be able to repeat it that much, but if you get 8 bars of something that sounds brilliant musically you should be able to repeat it pretty much forever without the listener getting bored and just slowly add more and more layers. There's a lot to be learned from minimalist writing styles.

[jrisreal]

I think one of the easiest ways to make something sound less repetitive is to really hone in on the most powerful musical idea you can. If you're working with weak material you won't be able to repeat it that much, but if you get 8 bars of something that sounds brilliant musically you should be able to repeat it pretty much forever without the listener getting bored and just slowly add more and more layers. There's a lot to be learned from minimalist writing styles.

basically how most of hiphop is done.

[Electric_Head]

if you can have your original loop play for 3 hours in the background then you know it`s not repetitive, even if it is.

[silkpantsman]

great tips above...drums are the best place to start, if your drum has a decent groove your in with a fight for the most part drums are a looped pattern before adding any extra bits and pieces try and get your drums so that the loop has that come around feel like that anticipation for the next 6-8 bars even tho its the same (it tends to make things sound a lil more agressive tho so watch for that)...hard to explain early hip hop/dub were mentioned scratch loop also own this technique imo!!! Its also about knowing what your personally content with.

[blinx]

Honestly I think almost every producer struggles with this, and it really depends on the track more than anything...there's loads of great old techno/electro/etc. tracks that really don't change, but the groove is so solid that you can really get sucked in and not find it monotonous.

So, Rule #1: Take it on a track-by-track basis. Every song is unique.

Rule #2: Look at the structure of your track. I've found lots of times that I have more than enough elements to keep my track interesting all the way through, it's just that the track isn't arranged so as to maximize its interestingness.

Rule #3: MAKE YOUR TRACK SHORTER. I struggle with this one a lot. It's hard for me to write short tunes if there's elements that I really like and want to show off for a longer time or bring them in more than once in the track. I usually have to sit on the track for a week before going back to it and realizing which parts need to be trimmed.

This is good advice... i usually build my drop/chorus/verses first 8/16 bar sections... then i block out my structure for the song, decide how many times i will repeat each part. Then after i get the structure some transitional effects and my general big picture done. Ill go and dissect my drum loops for each section and do my best to brethe groove/life into the robotic kick snare thing lol. I also will start splitting bassline parts and auto mate lfos after the song is structurally complete.

Each time i do this and work through this workflow i get better end results, practice makes perfect i guess.. and i still need some practice too lol.

[slothrop]

Less random changes and more actual development helps IME.

Also, if you work with (say) a 16 bar loop to start with, try to get it so it feels like it's doing something even when it's just looping by subtly switching stuff up through the loop.